1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a golf swing monitoring device and particularly to a device that permits a golfer to see his swing from along the edge of the plane of the swing.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Golf is a game in which form is emphasized over athletic ability. It is generally thought for a golf club to move a golf ball along a desired or intended line to a target, the head of the golf club first must strike the golf ball while traveling in a curved path at a point tangential to the desired line, and second the plane of the golf club must be normal to the vertical plane of intended flight. Proper alignment throughout the swing is essential to obtain any degree of success in playing golf. The second requirement is generally met by maintaining a proper grip on the golf club throughout the swing. The first requirement is best achieved by maintaining the golf club in a proper plane through the swing.
Failure to maintain the golf club in the proper plane through the swing has generally resulted from either starting the golf club in motion in an improper plane, or from movement, either lateral or vertical, of the center of rotation of the golfer's swing due to the effort of the backswing.
Repetitive practice is very effective in developing a correct golf swing. However, to practice with the wrong form serves only to foster bad habits. Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult for a golfer to correct or improve his own “swing” because he needs another person, preferably a professional instructor, to watch him while he is hitting the ball.
The need to eliminate bad habits has prompted the popular use of video cameras to record player's swings. Practice techniques using video cameras have very limited effectiveness, however, because the golfer cannot observe himself while he or she is being recorded and must wait until later to analyze and adjust his or her stroke. There is a need for a device that provides real time visual feedback on the condition of the golfer's swing from address to follow-through so that immediate corrective action can be taken by the golfer.
Many different forms of golf training aids have been proposed previously. British Pat. No. 1,258,018 of Devac Inc. describes a golf club practice swing guide comprising a mechanical assembly of pivoted arms mounted on an upright post, one end of one arm being adapted to be clamped to the shaft of a golf club. For the purpose of assisting the golfer to note and correct errors in stance and swing, a square mirror is adjustably mounted on the upright post so that the golfer can view his actions and see how he is swinging the golf club as well as feeling from the mechanical assembly whether he is swinging improperly. However, when the guide is in use, the upright post holding the mirror is located opposite the golfer on the far side of a mat on which a golf ball to be hit is placed. Therefore, in order to look in the mirror, the golfer must raise his eyes from the ball to the mirror beyond it. Thus, apart from the artificiality of swinging a club attached to an elaborate mechanism, the swing guide of British Pat. No. 1,258,018 would also tend to distract the golfer from keeping his head down and his eyes on the ball.
Other prior art patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,000,261; 3,097,437; 3,110,495; 3,917,278; 4,181,307; 4,383,687; 5,116,058; 5,297,796; 5,348,304; 5,458,340; 5,842,931; 6,592,376; 7,048,638; and 7,048,641 have permitted a golfer to observe the swing of the golf club. So far as is known, no apparatus has been provided in the prior art to permit a golfer to directly observe golf club motion from the edge of the plane of the golf swing during the swing of a golf club.